One woman, in a blue van, was always first in line.  It didn’t matter how early I left to go pick up my son, her blue van was always first and parked in front of the exit doors.  I had to admire her dedication. Then I competed for first in line. I was always sixth or seventh in line. I was irritated enough to park by the door to pick up my son by staying there all day when I dropped him off.  The line of cars stretched behind me for a mile down the side street. The woman in the blue van sat on my bumper. I had a laptop, so I could work as a writer.    The school doors opened a minute after four o’clock and the kids all headed for the cars in line. All of us had our students in our cars except for the woman in the blue van who had waited on my bumper all day. I won the Parent Pick Up ordeal. I wrote a lot. Which was good. However, I did not fix dinners, nor grocery shop. I did not wash bedding nor make beds. Dishes piled up everywhere, all dirty. I did not trim shrubs and could not get in the front door. This became a huge issue for my mother when she came to visit. It annoyed her more than the lack of food, the unmade beds, and the dirty dishes. I put her in the car behind the blue car without my laptop. We waited and waited in the sun and heat for dismissal. My son came out of school and hopped into the back of the van. “Wow grandma! You waited behind the blue van for me?”